


Finishing Other People's Business

by eafay70



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Children of Characters, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 00:51:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11863197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70
Summary: Midquel to "Unfinished Business": Joe Hart wants grandchildren. It'd be easier to accomplish that task if his best friends weren't idiots.





	Finishing Other People's Business

**Author's Note:**

  * For [myblueworld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myblueworld/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Unfinished Business](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6500122) by [myblueworld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myblueworld/pseuds/myblueworld). 



> I've had this mostly typed up since the weekend before my program began. There was a young woman from Turkey working at the inn where I was staying, and one of the guests was joking with her about the fact that she (the worker) and the guest's grandson were about the same age. That led to this...somehow.
> 
> You should probably read "Unfinished Business" before reading this. ;D

Joe was distracted from the beautiful view outside the taxi window by a text from Harlow: “Glad you and Uncle James got there. Mum and I are planning menus for while you’re gone. Send our love to Uncle David!”

The goalkeeper-turned-commentator put his phone back in his pocket with a sigh. He loved his son, of course, but he wasn’t exactly thrilled that Harlow still spent so much time at home. A young man with a steady job, good looks, and a great personality – not to mention parents who made no secret of their desire to become grandparents sooner rather than later – ought to be going out on dates more often than once every blue moon! (Yes, he was aware of his choice of words. No, it wasn’t intentional. But that wasn’t the point.)

The taxi came to a stop. Joe and James got out and took their bags, each Englishman pressing a few bills into the driver’s hand before heading inside the hotel.

“Mr. Hart, Mr. Milner!” The young woman at the front desk smiled in recognition of both men. “It’s been years!”

“Yes, it has, Chloe.” Joe couldn’t help smiling back at Harlow’s erstwhile playmate. “Kimberly still has some pictures of you and David visiting us in Italy on our mantle. Your smile hasn’t changed a bit.” He decided not to mention that Kimberly sometimes wondered out loud if Chloe had ever noticed Harlow’s crush on her.

“Your uncle’s not busy, is he?” James wondered. “We were hoping to surprise him.”

“He’s never too busy for his old teammates and friends,” Chloe replied reassuringly. “I’ll take you to his office.”

As they walked towards the back of the building, Chloe asked, “How are your families, señores?”

“Kimberly’s great, thanks,” replied Joe. Noticing the young woman’s face fall ever so slightly, he added, “And so is Harlow, of course.”

“That’s great!” Chloe beamed as they paused in front of an imposing door. She knocked once.

“Yes?” Joe couldn’t help but smile at the familiar voice.

Chloe opened the door slightly and leaned inside. “¿Tío David?” The two Englishmen took a step forward. “There are some people who want to see you.”

“Who? What do they want?” The Spaniard sounded less than enthusiastic, which just wouldn’t do.

Joe pushed open the door and walked inside the office. “Who? One of the most amazing football commentators ever. Here to see how his friend is doing.”

David practically ran out of his chair and into Joe’s opened arms. “Joe! You’re here!”

The hug was amazing, as was always the case with his best friend. Joe loosened his grip and ruffled David’s hair affectionately. “How are you, you little wizard? Must be missing the rain in Manchester, aren’t you?”

David laughed softly. “Well, having the privilege to see the sea every day doesn’t give me the chance of missing Manchester’s weather.”

“But surely there are people that you miss in Manchester, huh?” Joe and David turned around to see James standing in the doorway, his hands in his pockets. He was smiling the quiet smile that he only ever directed to David. And David’s big smile as he walked towards James was the smile he only ever directed to James.

After a hug and pat on the back, David asked, “What are you guys doing here?”

Joe shrugged. “Well, Sky won’t need me for the next two weeks, so I have some free time.” He pulled James closer. “And suddenly, out of the blue, our boring fellow here called me with an idea about going to a hotel by a boring beach in Gran Canaria.”

This made David chuckle. “So, I guess one of your main intentions to go here is to see that boring beach?”

Joe snapped his fingers. “Exactly. And to get all the sunshine that the weather can offer here.”

“Chloe?” David addressed his niece, who was still standing by the door. “Can you take our guests to one of our special suites?”

“Certainly, Tío David.” She nodded to Joe. “I’ll show you the way, Sir.”

The former goalkeeper whistled a random melody as he followed Chloe. After a moment or two, he asked, “Where do most of your guests come from?”

“Spain or England, Mr. Hart.”

“Please, call me Joe,” he requested. “What sort of work do you do here?”

“Mostly the front desk: handling check-in and check-out, finding what the guests request…”

Joe nodded in understanding, noting that they were probably out of earshot of his friends by now. “Are you seeing anyone special? Any relative of David Silva must be quite the charmer.”

She blushed deeply. “I…I haven’t found anyone worth charming…well, not yet.”

“I’m sure you will,” Joe said. He decided not to mention that Harlow might be worth charming.

 

Joe’s vacation ended far too soon. To be fair, he hadn’t been able to properly relax until the second day, when a blushing Chloe had asked him for Harlow’s phone number. Considering that Chloe seemed increasingly attached to her phone afterwards, Joe was fairly certain that Harlow’s crush was back in full force.

But that wasn’t his concern at the moment. No, right now, he had to figure out why James Milner had suddenly become boring again – specifically, why he had returned to England without warning. 

Joe cut into his sandwich carefully. “Listen, Milly…” He chose his words just as carefully. “It’s not that I’m not happy that you’re finally back. And you know that I always love taking a short break from work to have lunch with you like this.”

In true Milly fashion, James silently glanced up at Joe, then back down at his salad.

Joe took a bite of his sandwich. “But seriously, I didn’t expect you to come back so suddenly like this.”

James shrugged and took a bite of his salad. “Well…some things happened.”

“What things?” After a few moments of James eating silently, Joe pressed further. “Milly…”

“Yeah?” James finally looked up.

“What things?”

James sighed and sipped his water. “Villa is there. He came two days ago, on Sunday.” He didn’t lift his gaze from his salad.

“Villa?” This was very unexpected. “Villa as in David Villa?”

“Yeah.” James looked up quickly, then returned to his meal. “David Villa.”

Joe didn’t like the sound of that. “What does he want?”

James looked up again, trying to smile. “Well, he said he wants to fix things between him and David.”

“And?” He couldn’t help leaning forward at the gossip. “What did David say? How did he react?”

James gulped some more water before carefully speaking again. “I don’t exactly know how David feels about it.” He managed to smile, though Joe could tell it was forced. “But I think…It’s a good thing that they can be together again, right?”

Joe didn’t believe that for a second. “Really? Do you really think so?”

“Uh-huh,” he nodded quietly.

“And that’s what made you come back to England?”

“Yeah. Sort of.” That, at least, was believable.

“But…” Joe shook his head. “But, Milly…I always thought that you…” He took a deep breath. “I always thought that you...cared about David.”

The way James looked away from Joe confirmed the former goalkeeper’s suspicions, even when James looked back at him. “I do, Charles. I do care about David. And that’s why…” He shrugged, clearly not at peace with what he was about to say. “…That’s why I just want what’s best for him. I want him to have whatever makes him happy.”

“But, Milly, then why -”

“Charles.” James sighed. “Let’s…let’s just not talk about this for now, okay?”

This was making less and less sense, but Joe knew he wouldn’t get answers at that moment. “Oh, well, if you say so, then.”

Joe couldn’t help eyeing James curiously as they finished eating. He was reminded of a quote from a Disney movie: “If you want something done, you’ve got to do it yourself.” 

 

The next day, Joe knew exactly what he had to do.

“Joe!” David Silva’s cheerful voice came through perfectly on the phone. “How are you?”

“Are you really getting back together with David bloody Villa?” He’d already decided to skip the pleasantries.

David coughed strangely. “What…what do you mean?”

“Villa is there, right? So, are you two getting back together again?”

“Who told you that Villa is here?” David was clearly dodging the question, which didn’t surprise Joe.

“Milly. We had lunch together yesterday.”

“James? Did you…Did you meet him? How is he?”

“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know…” Joe saved sarcasm for special occasions, and this definitely counted.

“No…I mean…I…He never replied my messages.”

Joe sighed. “David, do you still love him? Villa?”

“I…Well…I used to love him.” 

Surely David didn’t expect Joe to be satisfied with that answer. “Used to. How about now?”

“Joe. Why are you asking me these questions?”

“Why? You want to know why? I’ll tell you why.” It was time to let it all out – the anger, the frustration, the annoyance. “Because all these years I’ve been watching you two without saying anything, wondering which one of you would finally realize what you should do, and when it would finally happen. But then Milly suddenly comes back to England looking like an empty shell, and I don’t think you’re doing any better, and – gosh, David, I’ve had enough of the two of being such idiots!”

David didn’t reply right away, which gave Joe time to appreciate how good it felt to finally speak up. “Did…Did James say…anything?” The Spaniard sounded nervous.

“No. He didn’t say anything. And that is why I know that I have to finally say something.”

“And what is it that you want to say?”

“I just want to say that both of you are idiots. Or maybe not. It’s just you being too oblivious, and Milly being typical boring James Milner who’s too afraid to make a mistake. It’s you being too naïve, and Milly being too meticulous. But really, in this matter, both of you are really borderline idiots.”

“You know what, Joe?” David retorted icily. “That is not something really nice to say.”

“Not nice, but true, after all.” He waited a few minutes before speaking, this time keeping his voice soft. “David…Let’s go back to my previous question. Do you still love Villa? I know that, maybe, you think that you miss him. But is it him that you’re missing, or is it the way you feel when you’re with him that you’re missing?”

“Joe…I -”

“David, you don’t have to answer me now, really. Actually, it’s the question you have to ask yourself.” He paused again. “And now that he’s there, David, ask yourself another question: Do you feel the same way toward him that you felt back then?”

After a moment, David asked, “What if I still feel the same, and what if I no longer feel the same?”

“Well, if you still feel the same, then go ahead. It means that you and Villa will make it work this time. But, if you no longer feel the same…” Joe sighed. “I really think you should tell him.”

“Should I?”

“Yes. I know that maybe you’re afraid of hurting his feelings. But it will hurt him even more if you keep him hanging on to false hope for too long.”

“I guess you’re right,” David replied softly.

Joe chuckled, feeling much better about the situation. “You know I’m right, David.” He leaned back slightly. “And David?”

“Yes?”

“Just be honest with your heart. If you no longer feel the same way about Villa, it may, or may not, be because of someone else.”

“Joe…Don’t make it even more complicated than it is now.”

“It’s not complicated if you really listen to what your heart says, David.”

After a few seconds of silence, David sighed audibly. “I still need to think about it, Joe.”

“If you say so. But David, sometimes you also need to feel, instead of just thinking.”

David laughed softly. “Yeah. Well…Okay.”

“Okay, I think I’ve had enough of beating some sense into your head. So…take care, David.”

“Bye, Joe.”

“Bye, Dav-”

“Joe?” The interruption surprised the Englishman.

“Yes?”

David took a deep breath. “Can you…please tell James that he’s right? That everything has changed. And nothing is the same anymore.”

Joe wasn’t going to attempt to make sense of that. “David…You are my best friend. Both of you are my best friends. But that’s really something you should tell him yourself.”

“Do you think so?”

“I know so. Now, goodbye, David.”

“Bye, Joe.”

The former goalkeeper hung up and sighed. Hopefully all would go smoothly.

 

When David called Joe asking for a ride from the airport to Milly’s home, Joe was pleasantly surprised to see his prayers being answered. When the wedding finally took place, Joe was unpleasantly surprised to see Harlow and Chloe leaving the reception for a make-out session in the Hart hotel room. But another wedding followed a few months later, not to mention several little Harts as the years passed, so Joe decided that all the aggravation was worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always appreciated. :D

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [How Business Was Finished](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13679577) by [eafay70](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70)




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